Applicator



Sept. 17, o R s APPLICATOR Filed May 24, 1939 0426a) mTOR M fi/rs Patented Sept. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 3 Claims.

This invention relates to applicators by which fluids, pastes, and similar materials may be applied to various objects. More particularly, the invention is concerned with a novel applicator especially adapted for applying polish and coloring matter and cleaning fluids to shoes, the device being of simple inexpensive construction and permitting the applicationfof the desired materials to selected areas on the footwear. The new applicator may, therefore, be used to particular advantage in applying polish or coloring matter to shoes made up of leathers of two or more colors.

In cleaning and polishing fancy footwear, such as is worn in summer and is made, for instance, of a white upper and a dark sole, the white polish or coloring matter applied to the upper should be kept from contact with the sole, since, when-1 ever the white material reaches the sole, it gives the shoe an unattractive appearance. Heretofore, shoe polishes in paste or liquid form have usually been applied by means of sponges, small pieces of rag, and the like, and with such expedients, it is difficult to confine the polish or coloring matter to the desired surfaces and the operation is a dirty one.

The present invention is directed to the provision of an applicator by which liquids and pastes may be readily applied to footwear without dirtying the hands of the user and may be limited to specific areas of shoes made of different colored materials.

The applicator of the invention includes a support and an absorbent body, the support being preferably made of sheet metal and conveniently formed of a one-piece blank. The support includes a guard, holding means, a wall, and a handle, and preferably the guard projects away from one face of the wall at an angle and the handle extends away from the other face of the wall. The absorbent body, which may be a sponge or the like, is secured in place by the holding means to overlie one face of the guard and extends at least to the free edge of the guard and preferably beyond that edge.

For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the drawing in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan View of a metal blank which may be used in the applicator;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the device; and

Fig. 3 is a plan View.

Referring to the drawing, the applicator, in the form illustrated, includes a one-piece blank, shown in Fig. 1, which may be conveniently stamped from a sheet of metal and forms a support. This guard is fiat and it is provided with a reversely folded extension II, from one end of which projects a wall l2, which is fiat and lies preferably at right angles to the plane of the guard. The wall is connected to a handle sec- T tion 13, which is folded back against the rear face of the wall and has lateral wings I4 which are folded outward from the plane of the handle section to lie substantially parallel and at approximately right angles to the plane of the wall.

[6 which may conveniently take the form of a sponge, and, in making the applicator, a portion IBa of the sponge is inserted between the guard and the extension and held in place by the clamping action of those parts. The absorbent body extends at least to the free edge I! of the guard and preferably beyond that edge. It also extends up the face of the wall a substantial distance.

With the construction described, itwill be apparent that the absorbent body is firmly held in position above the guard and the wall is stiffened by the handle section which is folded back upon it. While the sponge is securely held in position by the clamping action of the extension and guard, the sponge can be released by bending the guard away from the extension a slight amount and this permits the replacement of the sponge Whenever that may be required.

In the use of the applicator, polish or coloring material, either in liquid or paste form, is applied to the absorbent body and the applicator is placed against the surface of the shoe with the guard resting on the upper surface of the sole. The material carried by the absorbent body is then applied to the surface of the shoe upper by moving the applicator over the surface, and the guard keeps the absorbent body from making contact with the sole and thus prevents the sole from being discolored. The applicator may also be used in a similar manner in applying polish or coloring material to selected areas on the upper, and since the guard confines the sponge along one side and prevents it from spreading, the material being applied may easily be kept within an area of definite boundary.

I claim:

1. An applicator comprising a member having a guard-plate portion, said member having another portion integral with said guard-plate portion folded back opposite said guard-plate portion, said folded-back portion being spaced from said guard-plate portion and lying opposite said guard-plate portion a distance less than the width of said guard-plate portion, a wall section connected to the edge of said folded-back portion which lies opposite said guard-plate portion and extending at an angle of substantially less than to said guard-plate portion, a handle section connected to a free edge of said wall section and folded back against one face thereof, said handle section having a pair of spaced, generally parallel wings extending therefrom in planes substantially normal to said guard-plate portion to form finger grips, and an absorbent body positioned on said guard-plate portion and in the angle formed by said guard-plate portion and said wall section, a portion of said absorbent body extending into and being secured in the space between said folded-back portion and said guard-plate portion, said absorbent body extending outwardly on said guard-plate portion at least to the free edge thereof.

2. An applicator comprising a one-piece metal member having a guard-plate portion, said member having another portion integral with said guard-plate portion folded back opposite said guard-plate portion, said folded-back portion being spaced from said guard-plate portion and lying opposite said guard plate portion a distance less than the width of said guard-plate portion, a wall section connected to the edge of said folded back portion which lies opposite said guard-plate portion and extending substantially at right angles to said guard-plate portion, a handle section connected to the outer edge of said wall section and folded back against one face thereof, said handle section having opposite edge portions extending outwardly therefrom to form a pair of spaced, generally parallel wings lying in a guard-plate portion, said member having an-' other portion integral with said guard-plate portion folded back opposite said guard-plate portion, said folded-back portion lying opposite said guard-plate portion a distance less than the i width of said guard-plate portion, a wall section connected to the edge of said folded back portion which lies opposite said guard-plate portion and extending at an angle of substantially less than 180 to said guard-plate portion, a handle section connected to a free edge of said wall section and folded back against one face thereof, said handle section having a pair of spaced, generally parallel wings extending therefrom in aplane sub stantially normal to said guard-plate portion to form finger grips, said folded-back portion being opposite said finger grips and extending outwardly at each side of them to form a finger rest, and an absorbent body positioned on said guardplate portion and secured in the angle formed by said guard-plate portion and said wall section, said absorbent body extending outwardly on said guard-plate portion at least to the free edge thereof.

DREW MORRIS. 

